Okay. So we have mesh bodysuits, mesh tights, mesh shoes, mesh chokers and now we have mesh jeans. Wait what. Yeap, you read it right. Mesh JEANS. And you thought all the ridiculous jeans trends on Twitter couldn’t get any crazier.
I first learned about the existence of mesh jeans while scrolling through my Instagram feed, spotting Kehlani, a rising R&B singer-songwriter, in an olive green mesh jean. I just had to zoom in closer to scrutinise what exactly was this pair of “jeans” (I mean, I don’t even know if it can be classified as jeans) she was wearing.
Reading through the comments on her photo, many people were for it, surprisingly, with only a countable few having comments like “What’s the point of those pants tho”. A quick search for the designer of the jeans led me to the Instagram page of Amsterdam-based brand, HARDEMAN and lo and behold, you see a slew of butt-bearing jeans and detachable zipper jeans. Immediately, I set out to do some research on what this brand is all about, and a DAZED interview article with its designer, Sophie Hardeman, had me change my mind about the mesh jean and altered my perspective on what is considered normal in this crazy world of fashion.
In the interview, Sophie explains: “For me, what I try to express with clothing I think is just an overall play on common life, how things are regulated and how everyone is trying to be normal and dress normal – living in their context. I think a lot of people are also very insecure about how they should live, what they should do and what they should wear. What I’m hoping to put out is that embracing individuality and the thing that, maybe, is off, is what makes something special and unique and makes your identity stronger.”
On what inspires her, Sophie said: “It’s about what is normal and appropriate. Like, if you wear really tight pants, you should wear a thong under it, so you don’t see the line of your underwear. But, actually, seeing the line of your underwear can be very seductive.” While reading through the article, I was nodding my head vehemently to everything she had to say, and her perspective on wanting to challenge what fashion should be or should not be definitely made sense.
It’s applaudable that designers are pushing boundaries of what’s considered normal, but can pieces like that really ever transition into the mass market, especially in Singapore? It’s hard not to be judgemental (I was originally on the against team) and I’m sure most people tend to be that way too, whenever we see something that doesn’t fit into societal norms. For example, if you see someone wearing the mesh jeans on the MRT train, that person is almost definitely going to appear on STOMP. For now, going as far as wearing the clear knee mom jeans from Topshop that went viral recently might even be considered over-the-top in Singapore.
Then again, we are already in the year 2017 and aren’t you glad that people are starting to voice out their opinions, challenging what is “normal” and embracing just who we want to be in general, instead of following whatever is in? While we are still quite far off from embracing trends like that in Singapore, we don’t have to wear mesh jeans to show that we are embracing ourselves but perhaps it could change our perspective on how we view things as “normal”.
Sophie’s clothing line is gender-free with sizes running from XXS to XXL so anyone can find whatever they feel comfortable in. You can shop Hardeman’s collection here.
By Phyllis Guo
Header image: Kehlani’s Instagram
